Sirianni reveals feeling for fans

Coach’s comments on discussion rather weak

He can purchase every Bryce Harper replica shirt on the shelf.

He can drag out his Allen Iverson throw-back.

He can rock the shirts of his players.

He hasn’t done the museum steps thing yet, but Nick Sirianni can do that too, if that’s how he thinks he can show how he cares about Philadelphia sports fans.

Just remember the words-actions equation before buying into the act. And remember the stunt he pulled Thursday, and how it exposed every one of those photo-op dress-up games as flimsy.

Major story abridged, 69,979 people paid heavily to watch Sirianni coach the Eagles to a victory over the Minnesota Vikings. Another several million paid to watch the game gallantly streamed. Yet when Sirianni was pinched interrupting an obvious sideline altercation between a $255 million quarterback and a $100 million wide receiver, he first denied knowing anything about it.

Quickly realizing that — who’d have guessed? — there was some video evidence, he went Category 5 homina-homina-homina before making this declaration: “You don’t need to know what was going on right there.”

You — you over there. You don’t need to know! You got that? You.

So that’s what Sirianni thinks of the fans — that they must know only what he deems necessary for them to know. And that should have been clear weeks earlier, when he steadfastly refused to make a decent effort to treat similarly large Linc crowds to one meaningful preseason offensive play. Nope. His business was more important than their business.

Sirianni can coach his team his way. Win — and he does — and the customers will approve anything. But the panderer in chief ’s act has been exposed. He wants Philadelphia fans to mind their business. And no matter how bright, no red Phillies cap is going to cover that up.

That out of the way, the deeper issue: A.J. Brown.

In what situation is it acceptable for one player in the middle of a victory to challenge his quarterback about anything on the sideline?

“I think everybody wants to make plays and everybody wants to contribute,” Jalen Hurts said. “I have no worry about him. He’s a great player, a great teammate, a great friend, and we’ll do anything and everything to win.”

Great player? Yes.

Great friend? If Hurts says so, his word is good.

But a great teammate? Really? Didn’t he force the Tennessee Titans to trade him in a contract dispute? And if he would do anything to win, then why didn’t he just continue with whatever plan it was that was helping the Eagles win at the time?